Ling Mo's Confusion

The Divine Key did not unlock the Oath of Judah as Ling Mo had expected. Instead, it unlocked the Key of Destruction, the Heavenly Fire Sacred Judgment. This also made Ling Mo decide not to add a fourth soul ring to his Herrscher Martial Soul.

The fourth ring of the Herrscher Martial Soul unlocked the Herrscher of Fire and Herrscher of Reason forms. Since Ling Mo had already unlocked Yu Du Chen and the Heavenly Fire Sacred Judgment, and could not yet truly wield Herrscher powers, the two Herrscher forms were actually less useful than the two Divine Keys. Having realized this, Ling Mo left the Star Dou Great Forest.

After five days of travel, Ling Mo finally arrived in Star Luo City before the registration deadline. After asking around a little, he found the private quarters of Shrek Academy's competing team.

"Knock, knock."

Wang Yan opened the door. After entering the room and seeing the eleven people inside, including Teacher Wang Yan, Ling Mo frowned. "Why are there only a few of you? Where are the main team members?"

Hearing Ling Mo's words, everyone wore different expressions. In the end, Wang Yan sighed and pointed at Ma Xiaotao and the two people beside her. "We ran into an accident on the way here. Now, only these three remain from the main team. Of the other four, one died and three were seriously injured. Elder Xuan took them back to the academy for treatment." Though Wang Yan tried his best to keep his tone calm, the tightly clenched hand at his side could not hide the grief in his heart.

"Is that so... Then it'll be us reserves competing, right?" After hearing Wang Yan's words, Ling Mo understood Shrek's current situation. It seemed they had not escaped their original fate. Still, he would not mourn for them. They were strangers to each other. Ling Mo could regret what had happened to them, but he would not feel sorrow.

After hearing Ling Mo's question, Wang Yan forced himself to perk up and smiled faintly. "That's right. Before the academy's reinforcements arrive, you'll be the ones competing. But don't be nervous. Even though your average age is still under fifteen, don't forget that you come from Shrek. Perhaps you haven't felt it within the academy, but I can tell you with certainty that even in this All Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy tournament, you are outstanding. Don't be fooled by the fact that Shrek Academy's main team members are all Soul King level or above. The main team members from other academies are actually, on average, only Soul Ancestors. Soul Kings are exceedingly rare, and other than the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy, I dare say there won't be a single Soul Emperor among them. So there's no need to worry. Unless we draw the Sun Moon Royal Soul Master Academy in tomorrow's elimination round, your opponents absolutely cannot defeat you."

As he spoke, Wang Yan explained the tournament format. The first match of this tournament would be an elimination round. As the reigning champions of the tournament, Shrek would definitely have to compete tomorrow, and they would be the first academy to take the stage. After the elimination round came the group round-robin matches.

After listening to Wang Yan and learning the tournament format, the seven members of Shrek's reserve team felt some of their worries ease under his reassurance. Still, they knew that rather than worrying about whether they could win, it was better to steel themselves for tomorrow's match.

Watching their varied expressions from the side, Ling Mo felt no burden at all. Leaving aside the fact that he knew they would indeed win the championship in the end, now that he was here, they would at least not lose the individual matches. Team battles were harder to say, because the soul skills of the Douluo World were a little too flashy and complicated for Ling Mo. Once there were too many people, unforeseen variables could arise. Still, the two-versus-two and three-versus-three matches could guarantee them at least one victory. How should he put it? If Huo Yuhao and the others could ultimately win the championship under such difficult circumstances in the original story, how could they possibly lose now, when the situation was so clear?

The next day, amid the anticipation of all the competing teams, the tournament officially began.

Led by their respective teachers, the teams from each academy arrived at the competition grounds early in the morning. Shrek's group was no exception. Apart from Huo Yuhao and the other six, Ling Mo and the three main team members all wore cloaks that concealed their faces. As the champions of past tournaments, Shrek Academy naturally drew the most attention. Nearly every gaze was examining this strange team. There was no other reason—their average age was simply too young.

The academies moved quickly. Once all the competing teams had arrived, the Star Luo Emperor naturally gave an impassioned speech. However, he also knew that the competition itself was what mattered, so he soon ended his address and loudly announced, "I declare the All Continent Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Dueling Tournament officially open!"

"Long live! Long live! Long live!" The people of Star Luo City were more excited than ever.

After the Star Luo Emperor announced the beginning of the tournament, the host immediately began explaining the competition. Following a brief introduction, he quickly declared, "Next, our first match will begin shortly. The two sides are the Heavenly Spirit Advanced Soul Master Academy from the Heavenly Spirit Empire, and the continent's number one academy, the champion of every tournament for the past several thousand years—Shrek Academy!"

"Shrek! Shrek! Shrek!" Upon hearing the name Shrek Academy, the audience shouted Shrek's name in unison.

Below the stage, Ling Mo watched as the few people preparing to go onstage were left frozen by the audience's enthusiasm, and he could not help smiling inwardly. Seeing this, Ma Xiaotao encouraged them, "Don't panic, everyone. This is Shrek's glory, and it is also your glory. I encountered this situation once as well, but I want to tell you this: your opponents are definitely even more flustered than you are. So don't hold back. Go out there boldly."

Encouraged by Ma Xiaotao, they quickly regained their confidence and stepped onto the competition platform. Their strategy was exactly the same as in the original story. Under the Golden Road unleashed by Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, every member of the Heavenly Spirit Advanced Soul Master Academy was eliminated. The clean and decisive victory sent the audience's excitement soaring once more.

After the victory, Huo Yuhao shouted from the stage, "I come from Shrek, from the Tang Sect!"

Watching this scene from below, Ling Mo had to admit that although he knew he might have done the same in Huo Yuhao's place, it still made him feel a little awkward as an observer. Perhaps it was because he had no real sense of belonging in the Douluo World. Whether he was cultivating or following the Protagonist Group through the plot, Ling Mo was merely concealing the confusion in his heart. He had read Legend of the Divine Realm in his original world. Ling Mo did not think that becoming a god would allow him to return to his former world; the gap between their world levels was simply too great. He remembered seeing a joke in his original world that called Douluo's Tang San the weakest protagonist in history. It might not necessarily have been true, but it showed that the Douluo World's overall level was indeed not very high.

After the match ended, in order to conceal the truth of Huo Yuhao's bluff, everyone returned directly to Shrek Academy's quarters. Wang Yan soon arrived as well. The first elimination match was over, and for the upcoming group round-robin matches, they needed to carefully discuss their strategies.

PS: I had a lot going on during the day today, so I didn't start writing until three in the morning. I barely managed to finish a chapter. Please make do with it, and sorry.